There are now just a few hours left until the release of “Songs Of A Lost World”, scheduled for November 1st, which marks the return of the Cure after 16 years. While waiting for the long-awaited launch, Robert Smith and his companions have proposed another preview from the album, the English band's first studio work since 2008 (“4:13 Dream”). The new song premiered is “Warsong”. You can listen to an excerpt below.
Previously, the Cure had previewed other songs from the album: the singles “Alone” and “A Fragile Thing”, then some snippets of songs like “Drone” and “And Nothing Is Forever”. These are songs that are not entirely unknown to fans, given that many of these pieces have already found space in the setlist of the concerts of the last two years. “Alone”, played for the first time in Riga in 2022, and “A Fragile Thing”, presented to the public during the live show in Milan on November 4 of the same year, together with other tracks such as “And Nothing Is Forever”, “I Can Never Say Goodbye” and “Endsong” have already been warmly received by fans during their Shows of a Lost World world tour and will now be included in the tracklist of “Songs Of A Lost World”.
Two of these songs, “And Nothing Is Forever” and “I Can Never Say Goodbye” will also be included in the vinyl “The Cure – November: Live in France 2022”, released on October 1st, which immortalises the performance band live in France in 2022.
“I wanted this album to have an atmosphere. Some Cure records are thematic. 'Disintegration', 'Pornography' or 'Bloodflowers' have an atmosphere, an emotional core. So, when I was writing the music for the album, there was cohesion”. This is how Robert Smith talks about “Songs Of A Lost World”, the 14th studio work by the British band and the first for 16 years, which will be released on November 1st (pre-order already active).
An album that had a rather troubled gestation. “I don't think there was an official beginning for this album – explains Robert Smith, recounting its genesis – because it was a bit adrift in and out of my life for a very long time. If I have one regret it is that I talked about it in 2019, because I shouldn't have done so, given that we had just started creating it. There were moments when I thought 'we'll make a new album'. And then the idea, for various reasons, was postponed. Already in 2016-2017 I was preparing for the band's 40th anniversary and thought that a new album would be the way to celebrate it, but life came crashing down on me again and I didn't. And the way things turned out, that was probably a good thing.” Smith highlights how, compared to other albums in their career, the songs on “Songs Of A Lost World” have gained strength and cohesion through performance live, an aspect reminiscent of the way the Cure honed theirs sound during the tour in support of “Bloodflowers”, an album that ideally closed the so-called “trilogy of darkness” with “Pornography” and “Disintegration”. Songs like “Alone” and “Endsong”, played live before their release, found a new emotional dimension thanks to the audience's reaction and the way the band learned to live and play them.
To celebrate their return 16 years after their last studio album, “4:13 Dream” (2008), The Cure have also announced a concert and livestream event for November 1st at London's Troxy, which will be presented as the only full live performance of 2024. Titled 'Show Of A Lost World', the event will feature the English band's entire 'Songs Of A Lost World' album. The concert will also be available in free live streaming on YouTube. As well as the concert at the Troxy, The Cure will hold a live session at the BBC Radio Theater at Broadcasting House in London, which will air on BBC Radio 6 Music and BBC Radio 2 on 31 October.
For Robert Smith and his companions, Tim Pope's documentary, announced a few years ago, should also arrive soon. “It will definitely be done – assures Smith – it's an ongoing thing”. On the horizon, after the one with Gorillaz, Deftones and Noel Gallagher, there would also be another collaboration that is currently top secret.
Antonio Santini for SANREMO.FM
